Friday, August 23, 2013

And smiles because we have an idiot of the week. Guess who? The New York Times.

Thomas Gaist (WSWS) reports:In an editorial published yesterday, “Bradley Manning’s Excessive Sentence,” the New York Times has endorsed the suppression of whistleblowers spearheaded by the Obama administration.

Though objecting mildly to the length of Manning’s 35-year sentence, the Times
explicitly endorsed his imprisonment. The position of what passes for
American liberalism is “Keep Manning behind bars, but not for a third of
a century.” The Times editors do not say what they think Manning’s jail time should be. Twenty years, perhaps?In an astonishing proclamation of moral solidarity with the government prosecutors, the Times
wrote: “Certainly, Private Manning faced punishment. In providing more
than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks—extensive excerpts of which
were published in the New York Times and other publications—he
broke the law and breached his responsibility as a military intelligence
analyst to protect those files. It was by far the biggest leak of
classified documents in U.S. history, and thus it is not surprising that
the punishment would be the longest ever on record for leaking such
information.”The Times even applauded Manning’s dishonorable discharge
and the stripping of his rank, ordered by presiding judge Army Col.
Denise R Lind, declaring: “Those are appropriate punishments.”Though no longer surprising, the hostility of the media to those who
expose government secrets represents a flagrant repudiation of the
principles of a democratic press. There was a time when major newspapers
actually believed that it was their responsibility to protect and
support those who exposed government secrets, especially when the
secrets pertained to arguably illegal and unconstitutional activity.

Excuse me, but the New York Times did how many stories via the leaks Chelsea Manning made to WikiLeaks? And now they turn on Bradley?

They're stupid.

When they're next under attack, they may find people don't want to defend them.

C.I. spoke to three groups today, it was a private school. I was one of the people who tagged along. In one of the groups, you had these 3 students who just hated Manning which is why I am writing about Manning today. Weeks ago, I said I was done with her. I basically am except for one thing.

I do not attack her for being her.

And that's what the three students were doing. Just ripping her apart.

C.I. handled it beautifully, let them roll out their hate and then finding the perfect point for a joke that would really reveal how stupid hating Chelsea Manning for being a woman would be.

And two got the point and even laughed. The third stewed but it didn't bother C.I. (and everyone but that one griper laughed, I mean the auditorium rolled with laughter, I often forget how C.I. uses humor to make a point when speaking to groups -- she's a pro).

So I want to be really clear on this.

I am disappointed still about the apology offered during sentencing.

As for Chelsea Manning's gender?

That's her business and I support her right to be Chelsea and hope the necessary steps for that will be available to her now and she won't have to wait 8 or 35 years. On that, I wish her the best and an extremely happy life lived as her true self.

Friday, August 23, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri concludes
oil deals with India (and gets mocked on Facebook), the protesters
reach the eight month mark and vow they will not be run off, Kevin
Gosztola puts the Chelsea Manning coverage in perspective, rumors of
Nouri asking the US to take over a base in Iraq continue, and more.

Wednesday,
Iraq War veteran and whistle-blower Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35
years in a military prison by Colonel Denise Lind who presided over the
government's witch hunt of Manning.

Monday April 5,
2010, WikiLeaks released
military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were
killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and
Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7,
2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley
Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel
(Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had
been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The
first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring
classified information to his personal computer between November and May and
adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second
comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of
classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud
(Los Angeles Times) reported
that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one
that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty
if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December. At the start of
this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3, 2012, it was announced
that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. Bradley had
yet to enter a plea at that point. The court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election but it was
postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run on a
record of his actual actions. Independent.ie noted, "A court martial is set to be held in June at Ford Meade in Maryland,
with supporters treating him as a hero, but opponents describing him as a
traitor." February 28th, Bradley admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks. And why.

Bradley Manning: In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and
counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and
killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding
cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and
third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I
believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had
access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A
tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military
and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq
and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of
time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate
the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and
counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the
people living in the effected environment everyday.

Tuesday, July 30th,
Bradley was declared guilty of all but two counts by Colonel Lind. Yesterday, Manning issued a statement through NBC's Today show thanking supporters and declaring, " I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and
have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as
possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also
request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the
feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility).
I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the
opportunity to write back." These developments and more were addressed today in the first segment on KPFA's The Morning Mixwhich, Fridays from 8 to 9 in the morning, is Project Censored's radio program. (The program is briefly archived at KPFA but it is also archived permanently at this Project Censored radio page.) The guest was Firedoglake's Kevin Gosztola. Excerpt.

Mickey Huff: Can you comment a little more on the disturbing trend
that you see and what you think this case may mean for-for journalism.
And if you want, tag on what happened this week to David Miranda with
Glenn Greenwald and what's going on at the Guardian and the Independent.Kevin Gosztola: The general point that I'll make that I think
addresses just everything that you just said there is this incredible
thing going on in the culture of US media, it seems. And people who
are being targeted by the Obama administration and work in media
actually have realized and brought forth this-this disconnect, this
thing that really needs to be addressed which is to say that we've got
journalists who are publishing leaks and benefiting from these stories
and this is like a life force, this is like a life blood. They're
getting hits from the internet, they're getting spread farther and
father and wider. You're probably newspapers because you can sell
newspapers and you can run front page headlines from these sensational
scoops about the NSA or you even had WikiLeaks publishing those
stories. You're probably able to sell newspapers off of that, maybe
even win awards. But yet your newspaper is vigorously championing the
Obama administration's crackdown on individuals who are giving you this
information. You think Bradley Manning deserves justice in the
courtroom and that his sentence is 'reasonable.' And we don't know why
because they don't take a stand on that, they don't really define it.
They sometimes say what they don't want to happen to people but they'll
let the Obama administration go and they'll let the military go and have
their way with Manning. And then, in the case of [NSA whistle-blower]
Ed Snowden it's, you know, 'Bring him back from Russia, he shouldn't
have fled' and entertaining anything the Obama administration might have
to say about him being abroad. And in terms of news abuse, I think of
how James Risen is being forced to testify against his source and is
willing to go to jail [to protect his source]. And then you have this
ruling come down and there was no coverage at all in the media really
outside of the New York Times being the most major because it is
their reporter [Risen] who is being targeted. And you have some
alternative and independent press giving it attention. But it didn't
enter into regular cable or evening news programs that Americans around
the country watch. And then you have David Miranda abroad, being
detained and searched for information and the Obama administration --Mickey Huff: Being detained under a terrorism law.Right. And [the Obama administration] pretending, pretending like
they don't want this or they weren't involved in this happening and this
is just an escalation. You see an escalation on the war on journalists
being waged as a war on leaks, being waged as a war that goes after
whistle-blowers. And I think -- I thought that the press was going to
wake up when the Associated Press had its records seized by the Justice
Department and we were talking about that and when we knew that [Fox
News reporter] James Rosen was being labeled an aider, abettor and
co-conspirator of a leak from former State Dept employee Stephen Jin-Woo
Kim. And you didn't see that happen. I thought it would be a good
backdrop going into the Bradley Manning trial -- now Chelsea Manning --
and I thought that that might get organizations to take a second look at
everything that had happened [. . .]. But it didn't really happen. And
that particularly with the sentencing phase which is one point I want to
make here. The sentencing phase of the trial. When you actually have
damage and/or harm evidence that is supposed to be brought forward and
the news networks should be -- every day -- going back and saying, "This
is what was presented. This is what United States government
officials said two or three years ago. This is how we can see if they
were being truthful or they were being hyperbolic and lying." But that
didn't happen. And there was no interest in getting actual information
out there to people on whether the government was proving that Manning's
leaks had been causing damage or harm.

What kind of media do we have in the United States? A War Whore media -- as NPR demonstrates but Ava and I'll cover that Sunday at Third. Media Lens Tweets this media critique:

Your statement hardly comes as a surprise. You had already made
perfectly clear that you believed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
dehumanized people, and that that dehumanization made it easier to kill
innocent people with impunity. And yet, I didn’t really listen. I
skimmed articles, skimmed analysis, but never made the decision to
support you like I should have. I’m sorry, Chelsea. I’m sorry, at the
very least, that I wasn’t a better listener.I understand now that you wanted to make the world better for women
of color like me. Now it’s up to me to make the world a better place for
women like you.

Aura is to be applauded for her attempt but after her Twitter
insensitivity that she recently apologized for, she probably shouldn't
attempt to mind read or speak for White women -- a group she clearly has
serious issues with. More to the point, it's a damn shame that she
only feels bad because Chelsea has spoken about women. Aura should have
been outraged about counter-insurgency -- which Bradley exposed, which
he spoke of in his February statement to the military body and which
witnesses during sentencing noted.

I like Aura but her being touched that Chelsea Manning spoke of women
doesn't change the fact that Chelsea spoke out against
counter-insurgency and hoped her leaks would start a national discussion
on counter-insurgency -- a discussion Aura never chose to take part
in. She should apologize for that and she's not the only one who needs
to (see Monday's "Those up for self-examination . . .").

But she Tweeted Chelsea Manning's statement yesterday and seems to have missed large points in her open apology:

I know the topic she's speaking of; however, important stories being
authenticated is good and skin color doesn't need to enter into it. I'm
not calling for Aura to be fired from The Nation (if I wanted
that, I'd give them a large donation the way everyone does to get
someone fired) but I do think she needs to take a strong look at what
she's putting out there. Equally true, when she has a valid complaint
against any person, she needs to make it. But a valid complaint is
about a specific person or persons, it's not about a race. When we
engage in attacks on groups of people based on race, we cheapen the
conversation and create or perpetuate the never-ending concept of "The
Other." Aura is and has been an important voice but Tweets like that
are not enlarging her base, they're restricting any valid points she may
have (and I think she has many) to a small echo chamber.

She has a problem and needs to address it. For those who missed her Twitter apology:

The "White girlfriend" had nothing to do with the exchange Aura had with
the man but Aura chose to attack the woman (and many of her followers
called her out for it). She did so because she sees White women as "The
Other." Again, she needs to address this. Her attacks are not playing
well and are making real journalists question her judgment and sanity.
I had turned several TV producers onto her, insisting she would make a
great guest. Two of them saw her Tweets and called to let me know they
have no interest in Hate Speech TV.

Aura, you're harming yourself.

And you're also missing Chelsea Manning's point about counter-insurgency
which is hugely surprising for someone who supports Native rights.
Counter-insurgency is colonization. That's why we called out Buffy St.
Marie's idiotic remarks about and support for Barack and
counter-insurgency supporter Samantha Power. It is lies, trickery and
deceit used in an attempt to isolate those native people who stand up to
imperialism from the rest of the native population. It encourages
violence against those who stand up and it usually includes the invading
force also practicing violence on the native population. It's been
used over and over. During Vietnam, we (the left) called it out. The
US government's spread a lot of money around to various academic
institutions -- including the Carr Center -- to buy silence in the 00's
on the subject of counter-insurgency.

Preacher of the unified Friday prayer in Samarra, Sheikh Khaled Hatem
al-Samarrai called on Iraqis to end silence towards what is happening in
Iraq that took a long time without getting an answer from the
Government of unfair and kill of Sunni component without mercy under the
name of /revenge of the martyrs / in a Baghdad belt areas specially.

Sheikh Khaled Hatem al-Samarrai decried the targeting of Sunnis. Where
is the United Nations? They have yet to decry this. Not only that but
UN Secretary-General has yet appoint someone to be his Special
Representative to Iraq. (Martin Kobler's gone and "acting" Special
Representative is not the same -- the current acting official is doing a
strong job but does not have the authority he would have if he was
named the Special Representative by Ban Ki-moon.) NINA also reports:

Preacher Sheikh Hussein al-Dulaimi said in his Friday sermon in Ramadi
sit-in Square: " The security forces in Baghdad belt deliberately
violating human rights, even these forces confiscate illegally livestock
of citizens and practice torture,kill or arrest them, wondering if such
a practices are security measures?.

Sheikh Mohammed Fayyad, one of the organizers of Anbar sit-ins ,said to
NINA reporter : "The citizens participated in the prayers that held in
the courtyard northern Ramadi and eastern Fallujah cities , stressing
that the goal of this trickle is to send one again a message to the
governing in Baghdad that our demonstrations are peaceful and backed by
citizens deep conviction.

Al Mada reports
that protests took place in multiple provinces and a Samarra preacher
called on Nouri to empty the prisons of the innocents and also decried
the international silence (from the UN and the Arab League) while
pointing out that the government is deliberating violating the rights of
peaceful assembly in Baghdad. Tuesday, Human Rights Watch issued another in their ongoing reports about the assault on basic freedoms and protesters in Iraq:

Baghdad’s new governor, Ali al-Tamimi, should immediately declare that
he will support Iraqis’ right to exercise free assembly, Human Rights
Watch said today. He should revoke regulations that allow police to
prevent peaceful protest. On August 2, 2013, security forces invoked the
regulations, which breach safeguards contained in Iraq’s
constitution, to detain 13 people who attempted to protest against
corruption and Iraq’s continuing slide into violence. Al-Tamimi became
governor of Baghdad a month ago.
Soldiers detained three protesters, held them for 36 hours and then
released them. The police arrested 10 more as they gathered in a central
Baghdad square, then charged them with “disobeying police orders,” a
criminal offense based on the 2011 regulations, because they had failed
to obtain official permission to demonstrate. On August 4, al-Rusafa
criminal court threw out the charges, declaring them “fabricated.”
“These latest arrests show just how far Iraqi authorities will go to
prevent peaceful protests despite the major problems engulfing the
country,” said Joe Stork,
acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The new governor
should start fresh, revoking these unfair regulations to show that he
supports the right of people to express their grievances peacefully. It
would go a long way to restoring trust in the government.”
The regulations effectively give authorities unfettered power to determine who may hold a demonstration.
Human Rights Watch spoke separately to five of the 13 detained
protesters, all of whom said that federal police and soldiers arrested
them when they and others tried to gather in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square at
around 7 a.m. on August 2. The soldiers detained Ahmed Suhail, his
cousin Hussein Abbas, and a third man, took them to the headquarters of
the 11th division, and held them there until their release
late the following day. By then, the men’s families had “started to ask
powerful people to intervene,” Suhail told Human Rights Watch.
Police arrested the other 10 after initially warning demonstrators who
were making their way to the square that “the army will arrest you and
maybe hurt you” and then telling them that they could not enter the
square because they did not have an official permit to demonstrate. A
federal police general offered to help the demonstrators get a permit,
but instead took four protesters who agreed to accompany him to seek the
permit to Bab al-Muatham police station, where police arrested them.
Police then brought in six others they had arrested, including two news
cameramen who had been among the demonstrators.
Three of these six told Human Rights Watch that soldiers from the army’s 11th
division assaulted them before police arrested them. One said soldiers
forced them to the ground, beating two of them, after first tying an
Iraqi flag around his head to prevent him from seeing. The soldier “beat
and kicked us, and called us ‘traitors,’’’ he told Human Rights Watch,
and “asked us, ‘Who paid you to come demonstrate?’”

Al Mada added
that the Samarra preacher noted the eagerness with which the government
now attacks the Iraqi people and notes Nouri didn't feel such a need
when the American occupier was present in large numbers in Iraq. Sheikh
Mohammed al-Jumaili noted that the Parliament passes laws to protect
the animals but seems unconcerned about the protesters' safety. He
noted that violence and militias will not force the protesters to
retreat.

And why would it?

After eight months of threats, arrests, gunshots and more, they haven't
stopped protesting. They've seen leaders assassinated and that hasn't
led them to retreat. Even the Tuesday, April 23rd massacre of the sit-in in Hawija by Nouri's federal forces didn't stop them. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's
Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have
died and 110 were injured in the assault. UNICEF informed
the world that 8 of the dead were children and twelve more children
were left injured.

When they started, eight months ago, many in the (international) press
felt it would last a month or two. Then they assumed the brutal summer
or Ramadan would stop the protests. Nope and nope. The Iraqi spirit is
alive and well in the protesters. They do not give up.

Al Mada, Iraqi Spring MC and NINA are among the
very few covering today's protests. No Western media could be bothered,
not even to Tweet. You'd think on the eight month anniversary, they'd
manage to at least take a moment to note the protests.

Al Rafidayn reported yesterday that Nouri had stated he expected to complete deals on crude oil while in India. On diplomacy, Al Rafidayn notes
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the Deputy Secretary
at Iraq's Embassy in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) has been fired due to
remarks which were judged to be offensive to Sunnis.

Staying with Tweets but moving to events in Iraq, CNN's Arwa Damon offers:

Back to diplomacy, NINA reports US Ambassador to Iraq Robert Beecroft met yesterday with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq:

A
statement issued on Thursday, Aug. 22, by the Deputy Prime Minister's
Office said that in the meeting the two discussed the relations between
Baghdad and Washington and means to develop them for the interest of
both, Iraq and American people. They stressed on the situation in Iraq
and Mutlaq's initiative that calls for making political, economic and
social reforms as well as a comprehensive review of the security issue.

It
added that both sides discussed the importance of the Strategic Frame
Agreement concluded between Iraqi and American governments; they also
touched on the situation in the area, including dangerous developments a
number of countries are witnessing, mainly Egypt and Syria.

The U.S., Iraqi Ministry of Trade and Federation of Chambers of Commerce Partner to Improve Business Registration

August 22, 2013

On
Thursday August 22, the Ministry of Trade (‘Ministry’) in cooperation with the
Federation of Chambers of Commerce (‘Federation’) launched Iraq’s first “One
Stop Shop” for company registration. The
Ministry of Trade was represented at the event by Deputy Minister Waleed Habeeb
Al-Mosawy; the Federation was represented by Secretary General Abdulhuessein
Almubaraka. The
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad through the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) supports the Ministry and the Federation through ‘ISRAR’ (“Iraqi
Solutions for Regulatory and Administrative Reform”), a component of the
USAID-Tarabot Administrative Reform Project. In his remarks, the USAID Mission Director,
Mr. Thomas H. Staal, congratulated the Government of Iraq, noting that the One
Stop Shop is a model for further reform to ease the cost, time and difficulty
of doing business in Iraq. “We are very
pleased to be part of this important launch today. USAID has been working hard with its Iraqi
partners to improve the business environment. This launch is part of this effort,” Mr. Staal
stated.The
new One Stop Shop will allow businesspersons to reserve a company name at the
same location where they file for company registration. Before the One Stop Shop, this action required
three separate visits to different offices. In addition, an online database was recently
launched (http://iraq-trade-names.com) that allows
businesspersons to verify immediately if a trade name is already in use. Iraqi businesses will save money and time with
the new One Stop Shop and other reforms supported through ISRAR and USAID’s
Tarabot project. This in turn will help
accelerate the generation of new jobs and economic opportunities for people
throughout Iraq.USAID-Tarabot
works with the Government of Iraq as outlined in the Strategic Framework
Agreement to help it strengthen public management institutions and improve
delivery of services to its citizens.

When I note State Dept press releases, I've usually gotten a heads up
from one friend or more at the State Dept. If anything of interest on
Iraq comes up at the White House, I will get calls and e-mails from
White House friends. I've noted this before but am putting it in now
because I have the least friends in the Pentagon. I've got three
friends there and if they don't give me a heads up, I'll miss it. I say
that because the US military mission in Iraq posted, in April of this
year, a report on the provincial voting in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces. A
friend, the same one who alerted me to a DoD video on PTSD which we
covered, wanted to know why "since you harp on the fact that we're still
in Iraq over and over," I hadn't noted that the US military had written, in April, about the April elections? Because I didn't know.

But I'm happy to note it now.

Especially since it gives me another chance to "harp" on the fact that the US military is still in Iraq.

For nearly a year, US news outlets have ignored Tim Arango's September 25th New York Times report which noted,
"Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could
result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on
training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to
[US] General [Robert L.] Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations
soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and
help with intelligence."

We covered the MoU in the December 10th and December 11th
snapshots, but let's note a few things from it again. Section Two notes
"counterterrorism cooperation" and "joint exercises." Direct quote:
"Host and facilitate participation in defense-related theoretical and
practical training courses, seminars, conferences, roundtable
discussions, and symposiums and lead engagement through other combined
military training and education, combined military exercises, and
exchanges of information related to those activties".

Yesterday, Congressional Research Services issued the latest [PDF format warning] "Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights" by Kenneth Katzman. From that report:On August 19,
2012, en route to a visit to Iraq, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey
said that “I think [Iraqi leaders] recognize their capabilities may require yet more additional
development and I think they’re reaching out to us to see if we can help them with that.”
45
Aside
from accelerated delivery of U.S. arms to be sold,
46
Iraq reportedly has expressed interest in
expanded U.S. training of the ISF and joint exercises.

After the Dempsey visit, reflecting the Iraqi decision to reengage intensively with the United
States on security, it was reported that, at the request of Iraq, a unit of Army Special Operations
forces had deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence, presumably
against AQ-I.
47
(These forces presumably are operating under a limited SOFA or related
understanding crafted for this purpose.) Other reports suggest that Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) paramilitary forces have, as of late 2012, largely taken over some of the DOD mission of
helping Iraqi counter-terrorism forces (Counter-Terrorism Service, CTS) against AQ-I in western
Iraq.
48
Part of the reported CIA mission is to also work against the AQ-I affiliate in Syria, the Al
Nusrah Front, discussed above.

Reflecting an acceleration of the Iraqi move to reengage militarily with the United States, during
December 5-6, 2012, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller and acting Under
Secretary of State for International Security Rose Gottemoeller visited Iraq and a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) was signed with acting Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaymi. The five
year MOU provides for:

The MOU appeared to address many of the issues that have hampered OSC-I from performing
the its mission to its full potential. The MOU also reflects some of the more recent ideas put
forward, such as joint exercises.

The concept of enhanced U.S.-Iraq cooperation gained further consideration in mid-2013 as the
United States sought to prevent the violence in Syria from affecting neighboring states, including
Iraq. In late June 2013, General Dempsey said that the United States is looking for ways to
improve the military capabilities of Iraq and Lebanon, two countries extensively affected by the
Syria conflict. According to Gen. Dempsey, enhanced assistance could involve dispatching
training teams and accelerating sales of weapons and equipment. During his August 2013 visit to
Washington D.C, conducted primarily to attend meetings of the U.S.-Iraq Political and
Diplomatic Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), Foreign Minister Zebari indicated that Iraq
45
wants to expand security cooperation with the United States to enhance ISF capability. His visit
came several weeks after the July 21, 2013 Abu Ghraib prison break, discussed above, that caused
many experts to say that the lapsing of U.S.-Iraq security cooperation had caused ISF proficiency
to deteriorate. Some experts believe the U.S. departure and lapsing of security programs has
caused the ISF to lose focus on counter-insurgency strategy, for example.

Wael Grace (Al Mada) reported
yesterday that more and more Iraqis are refusing to provide the
government forces with information about insurgents, rebels or
'terroists.' All Iraq News notes
National Alliance MP Susan al-Saad has declared Nouri's failure to
provide security, security companies should be hired to provide
security. Wael Grace (Al Mada) notes
today that Iraq is unable to secure its airspace or to protect Bahgdad
International Airport. (On the first, Elisabeth Bumiller reported many
years ago for the New York Times that it would be 2014 at the earliest
when Iraq could secure its own airspace.) Kitabat notes
that there are some who argue Nouri has intentionally allowed the
security to worsen to allow more US troops to return to Iraq as part of
the security agreement that Iraq has with the US. The Iraq Times reports
that Iraqi officials are speaking privately of a new US military base
in Iraq which will be used to launch attacks on al Qaeda in Iraq or
perceived members of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Moving over to the United States and, specifically, to Alaska where a
Senate committee field hearing will take place Monday morning:

FIELD HEARING NOTICE

There will be a meeting of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs at the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska on Monday, August 26, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. to conduct a field hearing titled “The State of Veterans Services in Alaska”.

Heather L Vachon

Chief Clerk

Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

SR-412 Russell Senate Office Building

202-224-3923

Field hearings are open to the public. Veterans, their families and
their supporters are encouraged to attend as are people interested in
the workings of Senate committees.

Turning to US political prisoner Lynne Stewart, banished to a prison for the 'crime' of issuing a press release on her client to Reuters. Law and Disorder Radio, an hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights)
this week provided an update on Lynne. Michael Smith explained that
"New York City federal Judge [John] Koeltl stated he couldn't consider
Lynne Stewart's request for compassionate release because, by law, it
needs to come from the Bureau of Prisons. Judge Koeltl also pointed out
that the Bureau of Prisons didn't properly consider Lynne's medical
evidence by saying that her condition was improving. Meanwhile Lynne's
doctors have given her a prognosis of 24 to 18 months to live. At her website, her husband Ralph Poynter requests:

Please join Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Dick Gregory, Alice Walker, Cornel West and thousands of others who are calling for Lynne’s immediate Compassionate Release!

Lynne Stewart has been in jail for almost 4 years for what should
have been a minor violation. Her real crime? She defended a Muslim
cleric on trial back in 1995 for terrorism – which she did at the
request of former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. After 9/11, Pres. Bush
wanted to make an example of Lynne.READ about Lynne’s case on this website. If you have questions, call Lynne’s husband RALPH POYNTER at (917) 853-9759. Then…~ MAKE 3 CALLS for COMPASSION ~President Obama (202) 456-1111Attorney General Holder (202) 353-1555Director of Bureau of Prisons Samuels (202) 307-3250/3062~ SIGN THE PETITION ~ see the side bar. Sign either petition.~ JOIN THE VIGIL ~ Meet Lynne’s husband, RALPH POYNTER in front of THE WHITE HOUSE! ~ CALL Ralph@ (917) 853-9759“Thank you!” – Ralph Poynter

On this week's Law and Disorder Radio, the hosts spoke with Lynne's
attorney Jill Shellow-Levine. Excerpt.Jill Shellow-Levine: Cancer is a terrible thing.Michael Smith: Particularly when you're trying to cope with it in prison.Jill Shellow-Levine: Particularly when you are trying to cope with it in prison.

Heidi Boghosian: Jill, is the reluctance on the Bureau of Prisons
part purely political to send another message of this anti-terrorism
climate, to be fearful of speaking out in ways that Lynne did?Jill Shellow-Levine: I don't know the answer to that. I can say
this, that if the Bureau of Prisons denies her second request, she's
asked for reconsideration in light of her new prognosis, from the Bureau
of Prisons' own doctors. When they turned her down in the first time
in June, they said she wasn't sick enough. If they turn her down now,
when she clearly -- when their doctors say she's sick enough, than that
becomes a very good question. And I hope that Judge [John] Koeltl will
order discovery so that we can find out the answer. Heidi Boghosian: We'll keep our fingers crossed and send our warmest wishes -- and many letters -- on behalf of Lynne

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About Me

I'm Michael, Mike to my friends. College student working his way through. I'm also Irish-American and The New York Times can kiss my Irish ass. And check out Trina's Kitchen on my links, that's my mother's site.